Learn about candidates through Project Vote Smart

Oct. 22, 2007

If you ever want to learn how your senator or representative voted on an issue or see where a candidate stands on a matter, Project Vote Smart has a Web site for you.Project Vote Smart is a nonpartisan nonprofit founded 16 years ago by a group of national leaders from across the political spectrum. Members of the founding board included former U.S. Sens. George McGovern, Barry Goldwater and Bill Frist and former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis.

Its purpose is to provide voters with “abundant, accurate, factual information with which to defend themselves from the bombardment of self-serving hype, spin and evasion of both major parties and their campaigns,” in the words of Project Vote Smart President Richard Kimball. Funding comes from foundations and donations. Project Vote Smart refuses financial assistance from all organizations and special interest groups that lobby or support/oppose any candidate or issue.Despite its history and 16 million pages views a day, the nation’s first “Voter’s Self-Defense System” is still unknown to about 90 percent of the nation’s electorate, Kimball said. Traveling coachTo get out the word, a Project Vote Smart motor coach is traveling the country to show voters how they can use the vast database of information available to help make more informed decisions at the polls.From 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, the 45-foot, red-and-blue striped coach will be at UNC Asheville, 1 University Heights, in Parking Lot C.A full year before the presidential election, we are already being bombarded with a vast amount of information about candidates, much of it twisted, exaggerated or downright contradictory.It’s easy to understand why voters trying to sort through all of it can come to the conclusion that you can’t trust any politician and it’s not worth the effort to vote. Such disillusionment undoubtedly contributes to low voter turnout and a lack of trust in government.The distrust of politicians and the elected officials they become is justified when they cynically refuse to tell voters their position on issues.As part of its data collection efforts, Project Vote Smart has conducted a 10-year study called the National Political Awareness Test. It asks every congressional, gubernatorial and state legislative candidate in the country this question: “Are you willing to tell citizens your positions on the issues you will most likely face on their behalf?”If the candidate answers “yes,” he or she is asked a series of carefully crafted, fair-minded questions about relevant issues.Discouraging trendResults of the National Political Awareness Test from 1996 to 2006 show a dramatic downturn in the willingness of candidates of both major parties to say “yes.” In the 1996-98 tests, 72 percent of all federal candidates and 38 percent of all state candidates completed the questionnaire. In 2006, the number was 48 percent for congressional candidates and 26 percent for state legislative candidates.The reason for the drop? Candidates are following the documented advice of their campaign consultants and party leaders, who want to control their campaign messages, according to Project Vote Smart.Instead of giving voters a straightforward answer about where they stand, they want to be able to carefully craft messages their polling tells them will sell in the marketplace. Sad to say, according to Project Vote Smart’s Web site, our own Rep. Heath Shuler, D-Waynesville, repeatedly refused to provide any responses through the 2006 National Political Awareness Test, as did Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., in 2002.Such political cowardice does not become them. Other informationThankfully, Project Vote Smart has other ways of providing voters with information about a candidate. The database includes biographical information, campaign finance reports, voting records, ratings by 200 liberal and conservative special interest groups and a key-word searchable record of the candidates’ public statements.Project Vote Smart empowers voters with information they need to decide which candidate they most trust to represent their interests.James Madison said, “A people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.”Project Vote Smart cuts through the spin and provides that knowledge. Check out Project Vote Smart’s motor coach Saturday and take advantage of the opportunity to learn more about the information available. Urge the candidates who aspire to represent you to complete the National Political Awareness Test. The deadline for candidates running in primaries for the 2008 election is Oct. 31. And as the 2008 election draws near, make use of the potent tools available at the Project Vote Smart Web site to evaluate the candidates who want your vote.